Chapter 225: The Contract Takes Effect
An old tungsten light bulb hung from a black wire in the center of the room, flickering with a dim, murky glow.
But the atmosphere in the room was no longer quiet.
As the clock on the center of the table ticked away, the nine people sitting around the round table slowly opened their eyes.
Except for Lawyer Zhang and Tiantian, everyone's eyes held a different look than the previous time.
Qiao Jiajin looked around with some concern until he saw familiar faces one by one, and only then did he relax.
Qi Xia also lifted his head and looked at his "comrades."
Except for Xiao Ran, no one was missing.
It seemed Qiao Jiajin hadn't broken the rules—he hadn't actively provoked "Xuanwu." That was for the best.
Qi Xia scanned everyone one by one, first exchanging a nod with Qiao Jiajin, then meeting Officer Li and Lin Qin's eyes.
Finally, he looked at Dr. Zhao and Han Yimo.
Everyone was here. Somehow, that was reassuring.
But now there were three problematic figures in the room. First were Lawyer Zhang and Tiantian, who hadn't "Echoed" and were still in their initial state.
Then there was the former tenth person, now the ninth.
The young man whose skull had been crushed twice.
Many of the "Echoers" slowly turned their gaze toward that person. Except for Qi Xia and Dr. Zhao, no one knew where Xiao Ran had gone. They only knew that now the room truly had "nine people." Would this young man still die?
The young man, just like the previous two times, wore that same eerie, despairing smile as he stared blankly at Qi Xia.
The goatman standing nearby also had a different look in his eyes.
Among the rot and despair, those yellowed eyes now held a trace of delight.
According to the contract, he was supposed to make everyone in the room disappear and hold out for three rounds.
Now someone had already started to disappear. That was a good omen.
"Clang!!"
Another chime of the clock rang out.
Qi Xia frowned. Was that the "Scapegoat" ability being triggered?
But... under these circumstances, was it even necessary?
"Good morning, nine of you. I think it's still necessary for me to explain the situation to you," the goatman began slowly. "I am the goatman..."
Before he could finish his first sentence, the goatman froze.
He began to tremble, trembling with uncontrollable fear.
A figure in white had appeared in the room at some point. She wasn't sitting at the round table, nor was she restricted in movement. She was now standing in a dark corner, curiously looking around.
"Huh?" she muttered in confusion. "Where... is this?"
Hearing her voice, everyone turned their heads in puzzlement.
The figure stepped out of the shadowy corner. "There are so many people here?"
The moment he saw her, Qi Xia felt the string in his mind snap.
The last straw had finally come, unreasonably and without warning.
But it was never the last straw that broke the camel's back.
It was every single one.
"Xia, you're here too?" Yu Nian'an asked with a smile. "Wasn't I just walking on the street a moment ago? How did I end up here..."
"An..."
Lin Qin slowly widened her eyes.
This girl was... Yu Nian'an, the one Qi Xia always talked about?
How was that possible?!
Even if she really was in the Land of the End, how could she appear in the interview room where no one could move?!
Everyone's expressions grew complicated. This situation was far too bizarre.
"Xia, who are these people?" Yu Nian'an came to Qi Xia's side, resting her hand on his shoulder. "What are you all doing sitting here?"
Lin Qin turned to look at Qi Xia, sensing trouble.
Qi Xia's gaze was wrong.
He was starting to doubt himself. He was about to break down.
"An... you... you really are here?"
Qi Xia felt his mind in chaos.
He clearly hadn't "Echoed," yet Yu Nian'an had appeared.
So...
Could it mean this Yu Nian'an in front of him was real?
Qi Xia felt something was off, but the flood of information and clues in his mind collided violently, leaving his thoughts tangled.
"Ah!" Qi Xia cried out, his face twisted in anguish.
He knew what was wrong!
There were ten people in this room now!
According to the goatman's past practices, he would kill whoever was the extra person in the room...
That absolutely couldn't happen!
He frantically looked at the goatman, only to find that the goatman had no intention of harming Yu Nian'an. Instead, he had backed away several steps and slowly pulled out a gun.
"Contract clause 3.3: At the start of the interview, all participants must remain immobile. If Party B sees someone moving, they must immediately move away from the moving person. After ensuring their own safety, they are to commit suicide immediately..." The goatman trembled as he raised the gun, shrinking back to a corner and aiming it at his own heart.
"Not good!" Lin Qin shouted. "Things are about to spiral out of control!"
Everyone understood what Lin Qin meant.
The game hadn't even started yet. If the goatman killed himself now, how would things proceed?
How would they get out of this room?
"Qiao Jiajin!" Lin Qin called out.
Qiao Jiajin understood immediately. The goatman was backing up right in front of him. If he could snatch the gun, there might still be hope.
Unfortunately, Qiao Jiajin's legs couldn't move. He could only lunge forward, thrusting his thumb under the trigger guard, then twisting the gun in the opposite direction. The goatman lost his grip.
Qiao Jiajin knew it was lucky that the goatman hadn't had time to react, or he wouldn't have been able to overpower him head-on.
Seeing his gun taken, the goatman panicked. "Give it back!!"
"No, no, no, no..." Qiao Jiajin waved his hands frantically. "Goat-head, don't die yet, alright? First give us the questions!"
"GIVE IT BACK!!!" the goatman roared, his own mind seemingly on the verge of collapse. He had been in the interview room for a long time and had never imagined this contract clause would actually take effect.
But Qiao Jiajin dodged left and right with the gun, not giving him the chance to grab it.
The goatman wished he could shoot the tattooed-arm man dead right now.
Contract clause 2.4: Party B promises to establish a correct worldview for the participants and guarantees to correctly guide them to actively, voluntarily, and calmly walk toward death. During this period, Party B may not kill indiscriminately or settle personal grudges.
Knowing he couldn't kill anyone, the goatman reached out again to snatch the gun.
"Hey! Cop!"
Qiao Jiajin, quick-eyed and quick-handed, tossed the gun straight to Officer Li across the table.
Having read the contract, Officer Li knew the goatman couldn't easily kill anyone. The moment he caught the gun, he ejected the magazine, then with his left hand tossed the magazine to Dr. Zhao, and with his right tossed the gun body to Han Yimo.
"Goatman! Give us the questions!" Officer Li urged anxiously. "Since you're going to die no matter what, at least let us escape from here first!"
Seeing everyone working together to toy with him, the goatman completely broke down.
He gave up on the gun. Instead, he slowly backed away to a corner far from the others.
Under the baffled gazes of the group, the goatman raised two fingers and then viciously stabbed them into his own eyes.
A scream of agony rang out. His eyes were now a bloody mess.
He didn't stop. He then stuck the index fingers of both hands into his own eardrums.
This act left everyone watching with pounding hearts.
After doing all this, the goatman, wearing his blood-soaked mask, hugged his knees and muttered quietly: "Contract clause 3.5: If suicide fails, do your best to destroy your own eyesight and hearing. Wait quietly in the interview room for rescue. Party A will send a specialist to kill Party B."